Cup dreams as Twenty20 festivals arrive

Twenty20 action dominates in the north this weekend, with three separate festivals taking place tomorrow.

Last year’s winners Forres St Lawrence begin their defence of the competition when they host a three-team round-robin event at Grant Park, with Elgin and Fochabers also involved.

Current North League leaders Buckie are also in home action, with Huntly and Nairn County making the trip to Linzie Gordon Park.

Northern Meeting Park will host a four-team mini tournament between the remaining four teams in the league, with home side Northern Counties taking on Inverness rivals Highland.

Northern Counties vice-captain Olly Bennett says being the host side will make his team all the more determined to avoid being knocked out at the first hurdle.

He said: “Our firstmatch against Highland is going to be tough as they are a pretty strong side.

“If we beat them we would fancy our chances of getting to the finals but it’s always about getting through that first match.

“That is particularly true for us because, if we lose the firstmatch, we will have to watch other people play at our ground.

“Our pitch is going to take a battering with three matches and 120 overs.”

Fort William are also in action at Northern Meeting Park, making the trip to face Ross County.

Captain Charles Luxton is relishing a shot at cup glory and said: “It’s quite an unusual format, changing from the normal threeteam round-robin.

“Ross County beat us earlier in the season, butwe feel capable of winning against them this time.

“We’ve never fared that well in the Twenty20 in the past but we have a few players who might be suited to the shortened format. We will have amixture of youth and experience.

“We would love to win a cup. The league is our priority – and we want to win every game – but there are less games in the cup so the Twenty20 gives us a better chance of winning silverware.”

The semi-finals and final will take place on Sunday, August 7.

“It’s always about getting through that first match”